Greek crisis deepens as AEK Athens president arrested over club’s unpaid taxes
By Mark Baber
March 22 – AEK Athens president Andreas Dimitrelos (pictured) has been arrested over €170 million in taxes owed by the Greek top flight club.
World Football
Hull fan drops case, but anti-police demo to still go ahead
By Mark Baber
March 22 – The legal action brought by 15 year old Louis Cooper over restrictions placed on fans has been dropped after agreement with West Yorkshire police on a new set of conditions which improve fans’ access to the Huddersfield Town v Hull City football match on 30 March 2013.
Boateng; ‘There is no vaccine to fight racism, no anti-biotics to take’
By Andrew Warshaw
March 22 – Kevin-Prince Boateng, the Italian-based footballer who made headlines by famously taking his AC Milan teammates off the pitch in protest at racism, has described it a “dangerous disease” with no easy cure.
Dyke back in the spotlight with headlining role at the FA
By Andrew Warshaw
March 21 – Greg Dyke, a former BBC director general known for his direct and passionate views, will be the new chairman of the English Football Association in succession to David Bernstein who steps down in July. His appointment is still subject to approval from the full FA council.
7UP fizzes in for Gold Cup sponsorship
By Mark Baber
21 March – CONCACAF has agreed a new deal with soft drinks manufacturer Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPS) for 7UP to be the Official Soft Drink of the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup. The sponsorship will almost certainly add fuel to the debate over soccer’s role in public health.
International day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
By Mark Baber
March 21 – Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. This year the theme, chosen by the UN Human Rights Office, is racism in sports.
Report shows how the big stay big, and the power of money
March 21 – A CIES Football Observatory report, released today, highlights the issues of player hoarding and how this creates and sustains a competitive imbalance in European football.
Olympic Stadium freeze-out will put us out of business, says Orient’s Hearn
March 21 – Barry Hearn, chairman of lower-league English club Leyton Orient, says he will give up his fight to move his club to the stadium used for the London 2012 Olympics if he loses a legal challenge into the bidding process.
Platini bites back at criticisms of UEFA’s stance on reform and Euro2020
21 March – UEFA president Michel Platini has hit back at Sepp Blatter’s criticism of his revolutionary plan for a pan-Continental 2020 European Championship, implying his FIFA counterpart has been disrespectful to UEFA’s national federations.
In the heat of Doha’s sun, Brits come out for a Winter World Cup
By Andrew Warshaw in Doha
March 20 – Any time Qatar stages a high-profile sports conference – and there have been a good number in recent months – the increasingly divisive debate over switching the 2022 World Cup to winter invariably springs to prominence. So it was at the Securing Sport 2013 summit in Doha. Except this time, it wasn’t supposed to happen quite like that.
Katidis’ Nazi salute earns club ban and a vehement backlash from AEK fans
By Mark Baber
March 20 – Giorgos Katidis the 20-year old AEK player who made a Nazi salute to fans after scoring on Saturday has now been suspended by his club until the end of the season.
Al Medlej hints at pulling out of AFC race in favour of Al Serkal
By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent, in Doha
March 20 – One of the candidates bidding to become president of the Asian Football Confederation has said for the first time that he might pull out of the race.
Match-fixing guru warns of ‘easy target’ player recruitment
By Andrew Warshaw, Chief Correspondent, in Doha
March 19 – Chris Eaton (pictured), one of the world’s leading experts on match-fixing, has warned that the recent investigation into possible rigging at lower-league English level could be the start of something far more sinister.
Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello, out the game
By Mark Baber
March 19 – John Riccitiello is resigning as CEO of Electronic Arts after six years in the job, taking responsibility for what are expected to be disappointing quarterly results, despite record breaking numbers for its FIFA games.
UEFA charge Inter Milan over Europe League monkey chants
March 19 – As anticipated, UEFA has charged Inter Milan over the racist behaviour of their fans during the recent Europa League game at home to Tottenham Hotspur last week.